Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis speaks during a garden party before a sunset parade as the invited guest of honor by Commandant of the Marine Corps. Gen. Robert B. Neller and Commanding Officer of the Marine Barracks Washington Col. Tyler J. Zagursk at the Marine Barracks Washington, Arlington, Va., June 30, 2017.

Photo via DoD

Mattis: North Korea Missile Launch Doesn’t Bring US Closer To War

North Korea’s launch of a missile capable of striking parts of the U.S. doesn’t bring the two nations closer to war, Defense Secretary James Mattis said July 6, even as President Donald Trump warned he was considering “pretty severe things” in response.

“I do not believe this capability in itself brings us closer to war,” Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon. He added that U.S. “self-restraint” had prevented conflict and that “diplomatic efforts remain underway.”

His comments appeared aimed at clarifying that the U.S. was not considering military action in response to the missile launch.

The Pentagon is still examining data from the launch July 4 to verify Pyongyang’s claim to have fired a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile.

A two-stage ICBM would be capable of extending a missile’s range by thousands of miles, stoking fears that the isolated nation is drawing closer to its decades-long goal of being capable of delivering a nuclear strike on the continental United States.

At a news conference July 6 in Warsaw, Poland, Trump declined to provide specifics about potential options under consideration to rein in the North’s leader, Kim Jong Un.